An Interview With Carrie Welch And Mike Thelin, Co-Founders Of Feast Portland

It was a jam-packed weekend of food and drink celebrating the bounty that is Oregon. It was the fourth annual Feast Portland, held on September 19 through 22, 2015, and the sold out events and happy crowds spoke volumes to just what a cherished event Feast has become. Of course, no one could speak more clearly about the event then co-founders Carrie Welch and Mike Thelin, so The Daily Meal took a moment to find out what they thought about the festive four days honoring all things culinary.

The Daily Meal: How do you feel now that Feast Portland number four is a wrap?
Carrie Welch: Relieved! And excited for next year, if you can believe it. I know I love what we do because even when Feast is going on, we're always thinking what could we do more of, what would make it even better. The whole team thinks that way. One of the new members of our team said to me at our last party on Sunday, "I want another one." That's when you know it's a success and despite massive amounts of hard work, everyone is happy and fulfilled working on this festival.

Mike Thelin: It feels wonderful to have another successful year under our belt and we are grateful to have such a talented team and a very supportive city, region and community of people that make this festival happen every year. That said, we are already onto building year five. It takes a full year (and even more) to pull this off every year, and while we are thrilled with this year's festival, this is a team that isn't afraid to shake things up. We are obsessive about what we do, and we can't wait to do it again next September.

The Daily Meal: What surprised you the most about this year's Feast?
CW: Smoked! It was just so awesome. The venue, the smoke, chefs grilling over live fire, the vibe, the décor... Did you see the tiny animals and wood work peppered throughout the chef stations? The level of detail that our team and Bird Dog Creative employed in making that event feel feast-like and cool and fun was unmatched. One chef told me even the load in for that event had good vibes, that load in can set the tone for the whole event and this one was really great.

MT: We massively changed our demo stage programming this year and decided to take things in a lifestyle direction instead of static cooking demos. We nixed those entirely, added a deejay, and planned all sorts of spectacles and made our stage experience a lot more energetic: juicing competitions between chefs, an Instagram tutorial by Bon Appétit editors, a sandwich making competition featuring top chefs and audience members — and even some dance parties where Tillamook handed out ice cream. Collectively we've been doing food events for decades, and it took that long to figure out what people wanted from a stage experience. They don't only want cooking demos they could watch at home on television. They want to engage, participate and be entertained.

What was the craziest, funniest, wildest thing that you experienced or saw or that happened at Feast this year?
CW: Well, the karaoke bus we run for media guests to Smoked was pretty funny. Especially when a certain co-founder got up and did Shoop and almost nailed it word for word. Almost. There's always next year!

The sunset at Night Market was pretty wild. So were the Tomahawk Chops everyone was walking around with from The Country Cat at Smoked. The amount of social media love everyone gives us the week of Feast was overwhelming and made me tear up at times. The 200+ volunteers who come back year after year in their spare time to help make the festival great.

I never make it there, but I heard the flip cup tournament at the ChefStable after party on Friday night was one for the books!

MT: I tore a muscle in my leg on day two of Feast and spent the rest of the weekend in a brace. Three weeks before that, our director Emily Crowley broke her ankle—so was also wearing a brace—the same color on the same foot. It's hard not to laugh when half of the Feast executive team is decked out in matching medical gear.

Smoked was a brand new event at Feast this year, taking the spot of High Comfort at the Nines. What did you think of the event and what feedback have you received from attendees?
CW: Oh man, as I said, I just loved Smoked and I think everyone else did too. I walked in to the event at 6 p.m. and thought "Yes! This is what we always wanted Saturday night at Feast Portland to feel like!" Our Feast team nailed it. Every detail, the way it was laid out, the caliber of the food and wine, the Fremont Bridge in the background, you had everything that makes a Feast event great. The level of creativity from our sponsors and participants was out of control. That's what makes Feast Feast. We come up with an idea, an outline of what we want an event to be; the chefs, sponsors, everyone is then able to offer their ideas, their inspirations to the event and then it becomes something so much bigger and better than we ever thought it could be. It's an amazing process to watch every year.

MT: High Comfort was a great event, but it felt off-brand compared to our other events. It was also too expensive and too high-end. Smoked retained the high-end nature of High Comfort in that it featured the very best wines and proteins, but it was a lot more casual and fun — much more in line with the spirit of our festival. The results were incredible as it may have edged out the Night Market as the favorite Feast event, and we can't wait to make it even better next year. [pullquote:right]

What was your favorite Feast event this year?
CW: I know you think I'll say Smoked, but I have to say all of them. I can't choose — they are like my children and I love them all equally. Sandwich Invitational also had incredible food and four new beers from Widmer Brothers Brewing; Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting had a new culinary stage that was a lot of fun and the food and drinks there were even better this year; Brunch Village so freakin' delicious, the Drink Tank panels had cool topics that people enjoyed... I could go on!

MT: We set up Franklin Barbecue in the Stumptown Coffee Roasters Parking lot, and there was the man himself Aaron Franklin smiling and chatting with the guests as he sliced brisket and ribs. He was flanked by Texas Monthly BBQ Editor Daniel Vaughn grilling tri-tip as an appetizer and the dudes from Woodsman Tavern on the other. It was the best of Texas food and hospitality right in the heart of Portland hosted by Stumptown, which is the city's most emblematic business. That's pretty tough to beat.

What was your favorite dish this year?
CW: I really can't pick just one here either so I'll list my favorites, and what I got to try when I wasn't talking! Aaron Franklin's pulled pork at Sandwich, Mei Lin's egg roll at Night Market, everything at AnniePie's table at Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting, Ben Bettinger's steak with pretty flowers at Smoked, and Andrew Carmellini's lemon ricotta pancakes at Brunch Village. What a weekend!

MT: There were many great dishes at Feast this year as always, but Brad Farmerie's (PUBLIC, New York City) Turkish eggs at our Brunch Village event were pretty epic. PUBLIC is my favorite brunch spot in the entire country thanks to those Turkish eggs, so it was very memorable to have them at Feast.

What was your favorite Feast moment this year?
CW: My favorite moment every year is walking into the Sandwich Invitational on Thursday and knowing we are officially underway. Feast is happening and here we go! From there it's a whirlwind for me and the incredibly talented Feast team, but in that moment I always know we are starting another great year and we are going to kill it!

MT: We did a collaborative dinner with Paul Qui from Austin, Christopher Haatuft of Lysverket in Bergen, Norway; Naomi Pomeroy and Kyle Webster of Portland's Expatriate and Beast; and Joel Stocks and Will Preisch of Portland's Holdfast Dining. When we arrived to host the dinner, it was amazing to look into the kitchen and see all those amazing chefs at work. There were also about a half dozen other chefs of note in the kitchen (a few of Michelin-starred notoriety) who showed up that night just to help out. It's inspiring to see the industry come together like this. Feast continues to exceed all of the expectations we had for it.

How do you personally handle "re-entry" after Feast is over?
CW: It's definitely tough to come down from the event high! After a weekend of being with more than 10,000 of our closest friends, it's crazy to wake up Monday morning and go back to reality. For us, reality doesn't totally set in until the week after. Our production team is still clearing venues, there's a lot of clean up involved in a festival this large and follow ups to be done. We usually take one day off the week after Feast and just rest, but then it's game on and we're back recapping and planning the next year.

MT: Every year it's the same for me. The first two days I'm still on high from the events. Then I usually panic realizing that all of the work and pre-work starts all over again. That said, making Feast Portland happen doesn't feel like work. We get to throw a big party with some of the most inspiring people in the food world. So while it takes a lot of time and a lot of hands, it's the best job in the world. Also, I hardly eat during Feast as I'm too busy talking to people. So I usually try to make up for that and have some great meals with close friends in the week after the festival. There have been lots of great meals this week as a result.

Do you attend every single event and party? If so, how do you manage all of the food and drink and logistics of doing that, especially considering you have a one year old at home?
CW: I try my darnedest to get to as many events as I possibly can, as does my co-founder Mike Thelin. Our schedule is packed and goes minute by minute.  In years one and two I definitely hit it all a lot harder than I do now, especially as I want to be present for our baby boy in the morning. My rules: eat a few things at each event, drink a little, not a lot, and get home by midnight.

MT: We are lucky to have two co-founders as Carrie and I get to split things up. This year I made it to a lot of the collaborative dinners as we had some heavy hitters in town from London, Scandinavia, and the like — as well as the Bon Appétit Hot Ten, while Carrie held court at the main events — which I didn't spend a lot of time at this year. Plus I am the chief after party planner so I usually head to those before they start. During the day I meet with a lot of sponsors and potential sponsors while Carrie connects with media. Even dividing and conquering, it's hard to pack it all in– but wonderful to get to experience so much of the festival.

Any secrets you want to tease about next year's big fifth anniversary feast?
CW: There is so much to come but I can't tell you anything yet! Just get ready for a birthday celebration like no other!

MT: We are bringing over a bunch of chefs from Japan. Portland and Tokyo have a love fest going right now, and there is a ton of cultural exchange happening. It would be a missed opportunity not to take advantage of that.

Anything else you want to say, share, mention, or add about this year's Feast or the next to both people who attended and people who haven't?
CW: Just this: come. If you haven't yet, come to Feast and see what we have going on. I promise, it'll be worth a trip to Portland!

MT: I think that year five is going to be our best year yet. Remember to buy tickets early — and when I say this I'm talking to all of our friends who reach out to us the week of the event asking if they can purchase Night Market tickets. You have to get on that early!